Lightning Eyes
by Megan Liberty
Summary: Suddenly she's in his face, her lightning-eyes boring holes in his green ones. "Then why is your shirt wet? " A night Tony will not soon forget. TIVA angst, mild sexual references, and gun-waving.


Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.

Suddenly she's in his face, her lightning-eyes boring holes in his green ones. "Then why is your shirt wet? " A night Tony will not soon forget.

_Lightning Eyes_

xxxxx

It was late when she finally decided to call it quits, her investigation could resume first thing in the morning. Tucking an unruly curl behind her ear, she shuts down her desktop, and turns off the light. Picking up her bag, she turns back once, at the first sound of voices.

Laughter.

"Tony, I do not know why she didn't jump on you sooner."

More laughter.

Ziva takes to the stairs leading up to Vance's office, her ninja abilities kicking in as she seems to turn invisible, blending in with the staircase.

They stide by, her long blonde hair still damp, and his shirt damp with what Ziva can make out as hand prints. Their breath is off, and she suspects nothing short of foul play.

They're still making small talk, and Tony sits down at his desk, back to Ziva. She leans down a little more, to make sure that his guest to the bullpen does not recognize her presence.

The woman's smile is cheap, Ziva realizes, and a melodic, but equally unattractive laugh - to Ziva, at least - follows it. "Well, Tony," She says, flipping her hair from her shoulders to behind her back. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow. My schedule rarely changes, so if you're ever looking.." She lets her sentence hang and Ziva can only imagine his giddy smirk.

"Later, EJ." She recognizes his 'Trademark DiNozzo playboy' tone of voice, and scoffs internally. Ziva stands as she watches the woman head toward the elevator.

Tony's computer humms to life, and she recognizes the pattern of the keys as he enters his login. Taking the stairs in stealth-mode, she whisks down them, and around the corner, counting to a hundred and fifty before taking a brisk walk back into the squadroom.

Even then, she's still silent, and when she breezes around the corner, past Tony, he jumps.

"Ziva."

She looks up at him, with a smile, which would have passed for believable by anyone but Gibbs and Tony. "Goodnight, Tony," she says, gathering her bag, and heading toward the elevator.

"How long were you standing there?" He asks to her retreating back.

She whirls around, and it her gaze shocks him.

It's like a lightning storm, her usually brown eyes flickering yellow. He knows this is as good of a warning as he will ever get to drop it, but his curiousity gets the best of him, and his eyes whisper his question to her again, under his invesigatory stare.

"Long enough, my hairy butt." The guilt that should be associated with that nickname is as effective as a punch in the stomach. "You like her, yes?"

"Zi, it wasn't really any-"

Suddenly she's in his face, her lightning-eyes boring holes in his green ones. "Then why is your shirt wet? From a distance they definitely look like hand prints, but they are not, and we both know it."

"And since when do you care, Zee-vah?" His question is laced with his husky charm, attempting to switch the blame from his tryst with the new girl to her lack of concern for him in the first place.

She scoffed aloud. "Since when do I care?" She pushes him back into his desk chair, disregarding the fact that her hand had made contact with his wet shirt until she wipes the excess moisture off on her pant leg. "Where do you get off thinking I do not care about you?"

"Then tell me the truth. You got mad at me for killing Rivkin, for 'mettling in your affairs' as you put it, but then I hear from daddy dearest that you killed big brother and Gibbs takes the fall?"

Her gun is suddenly against his chest, and there is little doubt that she will be the one to end his life.

"Why did he tell you. Answer me now!" Her tone is so angry, and he almost feels bad for upsetting her.

_Almost._

He laughs.

"He mentioned it to me last time he was here. Said there were a couple of dirty little secrets that he figured I should know, since I was soooo willing to span the globe to come after a traitor."

"And somehow you think that your hooking up with EJ is punishment for me not telling you my secrets?"

The desperation in her voice, and the faraway look that haunts them for just a moment gives DiNozzo the advantage. He pushes back the chair and kicks her gun away from him all in one motion, drawing her attention back to him one second too late.

He searches her eyes. She doesn't let Tony know that she is surprised that he has disarmed her for the first time, well, ever. "This was not meant to be punishment. And if it were, it would be because of Ray-Ray, anyway. This just happened to be a good time, while you were jumping to conclusions and such."

"The only one who has jumped to conclusions is you," Ziva retorts, nearly spitting at him. "I killed Ari because he had his sniper rifle pointed at Gibbs in his basement." She closes her eyes.

"Point blank." A sigh. "A second later and Ari would have killed him. I beat him to the trigger."

"And Eli told you to!"

She rolled her eyes. "Eli has told me to do a lot of things, and while he may have told me to kill Ari, he _was_ a good man. And that was the beginning. I killed him to save Gibbs. And if you do not believe me, ask Gibbs."

"I bet he doesn't even know." The cynical glare he spends on her makes her wish to choke him.

She laughs this time, and it's exotic cadence resonates through the bullpen. "I do not know what Eli has told you, but I can tell you that Gibbs and I have discussed this. Thoroughly. He knows why I did what I did, and I do not need to explain it to you. Although, if Eli wishes to point fingers, you should ask him why he purposely hired Saleem to aprehend and torture finest weapon, his beloved daughter. That would make for a great naptime story."

With that, she heads toward the elevator. He follows, reaching his hand in to stop the doors from closing.

"Zi?" His tone is softer, and she can almost hear the question he is about to ask.

She sighs. "Don't worry, I will not tell Gibbs. Or anyone else, for that matter." The hurt look returns to her flickering eyes, a storm still erupting within them. "But you should know one thing."

"What?"

"You said you missed the 'old Ziva.'" She pauses. "But perhaps I miss the old Tony as well."

He withdraws his hand, and the elevator begins the slow journey down.

xxxxx

Thanks for reading. - JL


End file.
